Kyrenia swamped by unregulated construction

Kyrenia swamped by unregulated construction

Kyrenia has become a city where money bypasses the law. The coastline has been plundered and has been overtaken by construction. The town does not have the capacity to serve its 80,000 inhabitants, a report in Turkish Cypriot daily ‘Havadis’ says.

According to the paper, untreated sewage is piped out to sea from many parts of Kyrenia. The sewage plant, which was designed to serve 25,000 people is working to over capacity. When it fails, untreated sewage is piped into the sea.

In 2015, there was a project to upgrade the sewage plant to cope with the 80,000 population. The approximate cost of the work is 7 million Euros, but there are not the financial resources.

Kyrenia has become the engine of the real estate sector. Every day, construction of a multi-storey apartment begins. Hundreds of new houses are being built on the road between Hirondel Crossing and the New Harbour. There is also the added danger of overdemand on electricity supply

While the decisions taken by central government increase construction, the municipality can not keep up.

Unplanned construction in the town is now impacting on tourism, the report says.

Traffic has become a serious problem in Kyrenia, where the number of dwellings and population is increasing day by day. The number of cars on the road also increase and the existing roads and parking lots cannot meet the needs of motorists.

Kyrenia traffic, which is heavy at almost every hour of the day, is completely gridlocked at the beginning and end of working hours.

As construction in the town grows, the municipality, which is underfunded and understaffed, cannot cope.

Kyrenia Mayor Nidai Güngördü agrees that there needs to be considered planning and construction paced, so that town services can keep up with development.

Urban planning is a must.

Experts say that central government should take the initiative to redesign the town. They say that to control the influx of more people, to reduce or regulate traffic intensity, to regulate green areas, to control how the town is developed, urban planning must be introduced and enforced.